


Your Bed-head is Really Cute

by Wick_Charmer



Series: Symbiotic Love Square [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), F/M, Venom/Symbiote au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-13 15:45:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17490764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wick_Charmer/pseuds/Wick_Charmer
Summary: Marinette, a symbiote host, meets famous model Adrien Agreste, also a symbiote host, and makes a promise to sneak him pastries





	Your Bed-head is Really Cute

Marinette’s family bakery was not an exciting place. The aroma of baked breads put the ‘comfort’ in ‘comfort food’ and food comas were commonplace. Marinette thanked her lucky stars for being surrounded by carbs, given that her symbiote gave her constant cravings for the stuff. She ate dozens of cookies daily or she was sure she’d die from hunger. Thankfully, her parents were more than happy to have her for her last summer before University and she appreciated the peaceful start to her mornings as she manned the counter, welcoming in Paris’ early risers with Dupain-Cheng pastries.

Adrien was uncomfortably hungry. He let Plagg eat his weight in cheese before they left but he quickly became desperate for something else to eat. It took a long argument with Adrien’s slimy black parasite companion but at last he’d convinced him to not snack on pigeons while he snuck out to get some real, genuine, not-model-diet food. Wandering the streets offered unique fragrances to the Parisian tomcat, granted some more pleasant than others. His nose guided him towards the smell of fresh bread and inside a quaint little bakery. There he found a cute girl with pigtails serving lavish pastries that Adrien knew that he’d kill to get a hold of.

The morning crowd had already slowed as Marinette called her father to cover her for a short break. She sunk into a small chair behind the counter and pulled out her phone. She loved getting to see updates from Alya’s twitter about her vacation with Nino. She was happy to see them get some much needed alone time to kill before their first-semester classes began. Marinette’s eyes would’ve been glued to her screen had it not been for Tikki’s giggling. She looked up and noticed the wider than normal grin on her father’s face in the corner of her vision. She tried not to freak out when she registered that _THE Adrien Agreste_ just stepped through the door. The same model that covered her computer desktop and posters across large sections of her walls. The very same gorgeous blonde who made her blush flipping through Gabriel fashion magazines.

Adrien in that moment decided whoever came up with the phrase ‘eyes bigger than your stomach’ had never stepped into this bakery before. Nor had they had to host an internal gremlin that made them gorge on entire wheels of Camembert. Being in a place like this, he could easily draw the parallel to a ‘kid in a candy shop’. He wasted no time and grabbed anything and everything within reach. With one arm cradling a hefty pile of food, he used the other to fish out a large bill and place it on the counter. 

“Keep the change,” he said to no-one in particular, keeping his gaze low. Marinette watched him meander toward a small cafe table near the front of the shop, wolfing down treats as he went. 

Had he not looked up from the cream-filled carb disaster in his hands he wouldn’t have noticed the dark-haired girl walking towards him. Adrien’s last two brain cells suddenly remembered that napkins exist and tried desperately to wipe away the sweet filling running down the side of his face before she reached his table.

Just like any normal person, Marinette had times when her willpower faltered. Although unlike a normal person she had her own built-in wing-man. It was as if her entire body was a puppet being controlled as she sat next to the embodiment of her romantic fantasies. There would be harsh words with Tikki after this fiasco, but until then she resigned to follow her lead. Her lips tried to form words, unwilling to cooperate with her tongue until once more she felt like she was being coached to do the smallest of tasks.

“Hii-i-i I’m Mara- Marinette! How are you doing dream boy-I MEAN Adrien AGRESTE handsome man model I mean uhhhhhh are you enjoying your fooooood??”

Marinette just wanted to keel over and die. Her love life was over, she would die single and alone and never get to feel the loving touch of another person.

At the moment, Adrien’s focus was solely on the mess that was himself and his crumbling breakfast. Nowhere close to noticing the stuttering of the girl next to him. _Oh no Agrest you did it this time, the only time you’re not surrounded by a camera crew in public and have to speak to a real human person you look like a total slob. Plagg is so going on a diet so help me god._

“Hiiii Marinette! Please, please don’t tell anyone I came here. See I have a special diet for my job and it’s killing my emotional support tapeworm so you would be doing me a huuuge favor if you kept this under wraps, pretty please?” For emphasis he clasped his hands together and gave her his signature Kitty Pout™ look.

Adrien was begging for his life. If his dad so much as _suspected_ his son strayed from his strict sweets-free diet he’d be grounded for months and officially the lamest 19-year-old in Paris. Even Plagg would… actually, no. Plagg wouldn’t feel bad for him, he’d just complain about not getting to eat cheese.

The words tumbled out of his mouth too quickly for her to catch all of it, but at least she got the most important part. “What? Oh nononono I would never- I don’t think anyone would believe me if I said you came to my family’s bakery.”

Adrien let out a massive sigh of relief. “Thank you. So. Much. It’s not often I get to walk around outside without paparazzi trying to shove cameras down my-….. wait, you LIVE here? You get to spend every day in a place like this??”

Back to normal blushing Marinette mode. _Oh no please no, Tikki take the wheel._

“Uhhh yea-yeah! I live here and work and sleep and bake and make clothes and fantasize about you at night in my dreams I MEAN- NO I don’t fantasize I mean I REally REALLY like your work- YOUR DAD’S WORK! I make clothes like he does. I mean not like he does of course I mean I try..”

_Just kill me now and put me out of my misery._

Adrien let out a small chuckle to her surprise. Not a mocking laugh, not a contemptuous scorn, but a beaming smile. Besides his brief encounters with Ladybug, it had been ages since Adrien felt like he had talked to a real person. Adrien started writing on one of the few clean napkins and handed it to her.

“It’s my private number, please don’t go showing this to anybody on the street. I’m staying in my condo by the river until the end of summer, but um please please _please_ whenever you have a chance I need someone to smuggle me croissants or else I’ll probably die without them… could you do that for me?”

_Marinette.exe had officially stopped working._

“And uhh I’ll try to make it worth your while, as long as you promise to not tell on me I have a few of my dad’s scrapped designs you might want to-”

“I’LL DO IT!!!” Marinette nearly flipped the table when she stood up as she swore her oath of secrecy for the love of her life. Adrien startled at the sudden motion but beamed at her nonetheless at her declaration.

“Thank you Marinette!” It’s nice to have a friend.

______

If Marinette thought her obsessive crush couldn’t get any worse, the next few days proved her very wrong. Her thoughts were even more laser focused on Adrien than usual, to the point where she often tripped over her sentences like she was playing double-dutch. She marveled at how she _somehow_ not only got Adrien’s personal phone number but also got hired to smuggle him treats. Marinette was saddened, yet not surprised, to hear Adrien’s woeful cries of hunger and just like that he completely won her over. _How could this poor blonde angel not get the sweets he deserves for his work?!_ Her mind would’ve been stuck on this train-of-thought had it not been for the shrieking cries of civilians shrieking out.

“Akuma! Run for your life!”

Just outside her bedroom window on the street below, crowds of people ran every which way fleeing the akuma that, Marinette guessed, must be nearby. Without a moment of hesitation she flew into action. Tikki’s form oozed from within her and coated her body with viscous bio-matter until the monstrous features of her alter ego replaced every trace of Marinette. Dense, webbed tendrils grew from her shoulder blades, forming insectile wings that carried her faster than a hawk. Buzzing from rooftop to rooftop she surveyed the wreckage wrought upon Paris by the akuma, all the while using clues to lead her toward the poor souls at the center of this mess.

______

Adrien wouldn’t say his life revolved around being Chat Noir. Certainly being his superhero self is freeing and he could see Ladybug often, but being Adrien has its upsides occasionally. Meeting Marinette was easily the best thing that happened to him this week if not this year. The idea of a sweet girl somehow sneaking past security just to bring him a cheese danish made him giggle. He wasn’t serious about his request, but he was sincere about counting her as one of his only friends. Chloe, who was currently long gone aboard her “study abroad” cruise, enjoyed finding new and interesting ways to torment others which… he could do without.

Speaking of tormented souls…

The unmistakable roar of an akuma caught Adrien’s attention. He followed the sound down a couple blocks to where spectators gathered, many of whom were pointing and aiming their camera-phones at the sides of nearby buildings. From around a corner emerged a large oozing figure tearing AC units from their windows and sticking them to its inky tar-like skin, sometimes hurling chunks of debris at unsuspecting bystanders. Each of the captured AC units sent frigid air down to the streets below, ruining the warm afternoon. Worst of all, the akuma spat icy puns that even the great Chat Noir would scoff at. And scoff he did as Adrien squeezed his way through the crowd to find a secluded place to transform.

“Plagg! Claws Out!” 

______

Ladybug prided herself on being slow to anger, but today was not that day. She just had one of the best days in her 19 years and she was not going to let some overgrown akuma jackass ruin it. By the time she arrived on the scene Chat Noir was already present and caught up in what looked like a mutant snowball fight. He and the akuma threw crumpled parts of air conditioners and globs of acid at each other. Chat was trying everything to get close enough to give the akuma an acid bath, but it preferred to play a frustrating game of cat-and-mouse. Just before he’d reach his target the akuma would pitch a good part of a torn rooftop at the hero and he’d have to dodge and start over. Enough was enough for Ladybug.

Choosing her next step was easy. She cupped her hands together and called to Tikki, “Lucky Charm!”

A ball of glossy red bio-matter gathered in her palms, bubbling and wriggling as an item manifested below the surface. The goo, receding back into the flesh on her forearms, revealed a coil of industrial elastic bungee cord. Ladybug scanned her surroundings, noting two parapet structures on opposite sides of the roof where she was perched. She tied off the ends of the cord to the parapets and used her giant slingshot to catapult herself at the akuma. She shot across the sky much faster than her wings ever could, using them only to steer and make sure she hit her target. In an instant she struck the akuma square between the shoulder blades, knocking it off its feet before it got the chance to strike back at Chat once more. With the akuma thrown off its rhythm, Chat had a second to gather his thoughts before switching back to offense.

“You always have the best entrances, my Lady,” Chat mused, flinging acid in the akuma’s direction.

“Why thank you, Chaton. I try,” Ladybug moved further away from the akuma. “Alright Chat, do your thing.”

He did his best to cover the akuma with his acid from tooth-to-toe to free the person trapped by the parasite. Left at the two heroes’ feet were a scruffy looking repair man and a shrieking, velvet, scummy mass with beady moth eyes.

Ladybug gently rested one hand on the handyman’s back and used the other to scoop up what was left of the akuma symbiote. A calming pink glow came from her touch. The man’s back straightened as bones popped back into place, in better condition now than had been in years. The displaced symbiote faded into a crystalline color. It dripped between her fingers as it dissolved into a pure white puddle, its evil nature evaporating around it. 

Adrien was ecstatic to see his lady again, but he gave her space until their hero duties were finished. With the akuma victim back on solid ground and a few reporters’ questions answered, they met back up on the roof. As it turns out, Chat was not the only giddy superhero today. When he caught up to Ladybug she had a mile-wide smile and was gazing fondly into the distance.

“Alright Buggaboo, spill. Is it your birthday? Did you win the lottery? Is there another cute kitty I should know about?” he joined her on the roof ledge.

“Something like that,” she sighed. His eyebrow shot up.

He nudged himself closer to her and like a spoiled cat, laid his head on her lap. Ladybug got the hint and started stroking his smooth satin fur.

“I met him Chat, I finally met him!”

“Oh who’d you meet?”

“I don’t know kitty, I wouldn’t want you getting jealous. I mean yeah you’re both adorable but he’s….”

“He’s…?” Chat curled his arms around her waist to remind her that she already had a loving cat.

“Well he’s gorgeous for one, he has a smile that’ll melt your heart, and oh his laugh….he has the sweetest laugh! Oh! And my dad likes him already, I can tell.”

Chat’s tail also started to wrap around her to bring her attention back to him. 

“But like I said I don’t want you getting jealous, Minou. I don’t know what I’d do without you and besides I’ll always be here for my sidekick.” She playfully booped him on the nose.

Chat squinted.

“Excuse you, I’m not a _sidekick_.”

“That’s not what the Ladyblog says,” she grinned at him. He pouted back.

“Oh come on you know I’m kidding!” Ladybug giggled and lovingly kissed Cat’s forehead before getting up.

“Catch me if you can smelly cat!” she called as she jumped to the next rooftop.

“Oh it’s ON!” 

______

“Shit! SHiit! Shiiiit!!”

Marinette was late because she slept in, AGAIN! Hawkmoth revisited his most annoying strategy of creating midnight Akumas last night, throwing off her sleep schedule _yet again_. Late-night, ultra-grumpy Ladybug was nearly tempted to turn the poor akuma into a midnight snack, person and all.

_A hard, crunchy center covered in gooey goodness_

“Ew no…,” she shook her head, dislodging the intrusive thought. Marinette was glad she had started her superhero career after collegé. It had been a struggle for her to get to classes on time without a secret double life. There was no telling what life might’ve been like if she had to fight crime before she graduated.

However, at this moment the most dreadful thought of all was possibly being late to bring Adrien his first batch of secret pastries. Yesterday she’d promised him a fresh batch of donuts before noon, and she could already see her useless alarm clock show her it was just a quarter till 6. Marinette, still head to toe in her pajamas, rushed down into the bakery and grabbed several pastries still on the cooling rack. The minor burns on her hands were a small price to pay for her chance to make Adrien’s day even a little better. One by one she placed the pastries into a to-go box and knotted a piece of twine around it. Once she was satisfied with the presentation of the box she raced back up to her balcony where she unfurled her scarlet wings as Ladybug and buzzed away, en route to Adrien’s penthouse.

______

Plagg liked Adrien, he really did, but that hormone-fueled blonde disaster couldn’t form the words “I love you Ladybug” to save his life. Even as the boy slept Plagg couldn’t help but plot a way to make Adrien confess his feelings for her. In an idiotic turn of events the boy had found a way to not only crush on Ladybug but also develop a separate crush on her alter-ego. It frustrated Plagg to no end that he had yet to figure out they were one and the same.

Still, Master Fu was rather strict when it came to secret identities. With Hawkmoth gaining the ability to control virtually anyone he wanted to in Paris, the less people who knew the hero’s secrets the better. Despite Fu’s logical stance it made Plagg’s head spin to see the virgin model daydream about the women he loved who were somehow _definitely_ not the same person and she also _definitely_ have a crush on both of his host’s alter egos….. _disgusting._

“Where’s some cheese when you need it?” Plagg grumbled.

Plagg wandered his extended tendrils toward the penthouse kitchen but no dice. So long as he was attached to his poor sleepy kitten he’d just have to wait until this hot mess got out of his bed. Fuck.

______

Ladybug thanked her lucky spots. From the balcony window she could see into Adrien’s bedroom, where he lay tangled in his sheets softly snoozing away the morning hours. It was a miracle! She’d made it in time before sleeping beauty had even started his day. She slid the glass door open just enough for her to slip through, tiptoeing across the floor to his bedside.

Gosh he was cute, the image of sleeping kittens came to mind, a puddle of warm, soft fuzz and little pink noses all nestled together. No! She decided the boy in front of her was much more precious.

She watched him for a moment. A quiet moment passed as the early morning light draped across his living room, making the whole space glow with a warm light. And yet his soft breath stayed gentle and unwaking. A smile tugged at her lips, until a voice cut in.

“ _You’re going to be late for work,_ ” Tikki chidded.

Ladybug winced. As much as she wanted to linger, Tikki was right. She set the pastry box on the bedside table and glanced back at Adrien one last time before she had to leave.

Ladybug spoke under her breath, “Your bed head is really cute..” She couldn’t help but stroke Adrien’s hair, the blond locks reminding her of another boy whom she petted often. She decided to leave her prince charming a little something extra and leaned in for a gentle kiss on his forehead.

“mmh..love you too Ladybug…” mumbled Adrien.

Ladybug jumped away from the bed and stared at him for a hot second. Still asleep. He was dreaming about her. Ladybug’s cheeks were redder than the cherries in the cherry tart. The fact that Adrien liked her, that he dreamed about her made her heart do somersaults. Ladybug dashed out of the penthouse and into the open sky as fast as her wings could carry her. From her lungs screamed a single repeating word in the dimly lit sky.

“YES!!” he loved her! _YES_ , he dreamed about her! _YES_ , she was going to marry the heck out of that boy someday.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> This is a collab between Wickerbotter and Luckycharmer. We're hoping to continue this au with a longer/chapter fic with illustrations, so consider this fic a pilot.


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